Golddigger
by Rogue 559
Summary: Lexa's contacts have a new mission which causes tension between Brennan and Shalimar...
1. Chapter 1

Set after Adam and Emma are gone and Lexa has joined the team. The titles pretty self explanatory really so not much more to say. You'll just have to read on...  
  
I do not own the Mutant X team but I reserve the right to use them in whatever way I deem necessary for the furthering of this story.   
  
***  
  
'So let me get this straight. We are not after a violent, extremely dangerous new mutant. We are not chasing after someone whose main aim in life is world domination. We are after a female psionic feral hybrid who is targeting men,' Shalimar paused. 'And, give me a minute here cos I wanna get this right...she's targeting them because they're rich and she's an out-for-all-she-can-get-money-grabbing-whore.'  
  
Jesse and Brennan attempted to hide their laughter but gave up after a few seconds. Brennan doubled over while Jesse had to hold onto the table next to him just to stop himself from falling over. A smile appeared on Shalimar's face, not necessarily from the new mission they were being handed by Lexa but because of the sight of the other two members of the team. Giggles escaped from her lips and she covered her hand with her mouth.   
  
Lexa watched on. She rolled her eyes in frustration. She had learnt from her contacts that the woman could quickly become a problem, she could become dangerous. Lexa had been ordered to try and stop her and it was annoying that the rest of the team weren't taking her seriously.   
  
'Seriously Lexa,' Jesse managed to say through the laughter, 'why the hell are we doing this?  
  
'Yeah,' joined Brennan. 'Isn't it those particular men's problem. If they get sucked in by her then they deserve to get ripped off.'  
  
Lexa turned back to the computer monitor and pulled up the files relating to the new mutant in question. She was 5'9", asian-american, dark brown hair, sparkling emerald green eyes. Her name was Lucy Xiang. She was a feline feral and had the psionic ability of telempathy.   
  
'I know its a little different to what we usually do...' Lexa began before being cut off by Shalimar.  
  
'A little different. Lexa...have you been drinking?'  
  
Lexa carried on: 'I know its a little different, but this is still a new mutant who has the potential to turn dangerous on us or any one of the men that she has managed to seduce. It may be funny now but it could get serious if she doesn't get the kind of cash she's looking for.'  
  
Shalimar's eyes rolled into the back of her head. She knew Lexa was probably right but it seemed a little pathetic that when there were other new mutants to help they were assisting men who should have known better.   
  
'Fine, so what's your plan?' Shalimar asked.   
  
'She's looking for a rich guy to seduce,' Lexa said, turning towards Brennan. 'So we give her one.'  
  
'What?' cried Shalimar and Brennan in unison.   
  
Lexa's brow creased and a smile appeared on Jesse's face. He knew exactly what the two of them were concerned about and as a detached bystander he felt he had every right to be amused by the pair.   
  
'Lucy has been spotted a number of times in a restaurant in the middle of Los Angeles over the past couple of months so my contacts have made the assumption that she is going to be targeting a guy in that area. I propose that we set Brennan up with a mansion in the Hills, some flash suits and a little spare cash to show off with. Then we send him in to trick her into tricking him.'  
  
'Do I have a choice or have your contacts already made all the decisions?' Brennan asked.   
  
'Of course you have a choice. But I told them that you were a reasonable guy and that you would want to do the best for everyone,' Lexa finished, almost apologetically. She looked around her before walking out of the room. She understood why there was so much hostility towards her and if she wasn't as tough as she was she would have given up a long time ago but there were other people she had to consider, other things that remained more of a priority for her. She knew it sounded like a bogus mission but there were other reasons, ones she wasn't prepared to divulge to the team that meant it was more important than it seemed.   
  
***  
  
'Wow,' Shalimar exclaimed before she could check herself. She looked up at the house in front of her, if that was even how it could be described. It was definitely more like a mansion, big and white with majestic pillars holding up a balcony that looked towards the smog covered city. The gardens surrounding the enormous building were full of trees providing plenty of shade from the hot midday sun and the flowers provided a bright contrast to the white walls of the house.   
  
'Impressed, huh?' called Lexa from the front door.  
  
'Its okay,' Shalimar replied non-comitally. She didn't want to make Lexa too proud.   
  
Brennan walked through the front doors and into the place he would call home for...an unspecified period of time. Lexa had deliberately decided to be as vague as possible with that part of the assignment. The place was fully furnished and he, no doubt had Lexa's contacts to thank for that. The main entrance hall was massive, bigger than his own room at Sanctuary. It had white walls and ceiling and the stairs went upwards in a half circle to the second floor. Lexa's heels clicked on the shiny floor as she walked towards him.   
  
'Ready for the grand tour?' she asked as she walked past him towards the stairs.   
  
He looked back at Shalimar and Jesse. Jesse walked through the hall to the rooms beyond that presumably led to the garden, but Shalimar was watching Brennan closely. He smiled to try and reassure her that it was all going to be okay but she remained a little disconsolate. Truth was she wasn't so worried about the undercover mission thing, she was more anxious about the idea of Brennan trying to get another woman to seduce him. Ever since the countless numbers of almost kisses the two of them had gone back to flirting with each other and they hadn't talked about it, it was like it hadn't even happened. But that didn't mean Shalimar couldn't reserve the right to feel jealous about Brennan.  
  
Brennan turned and followed Lexa up the stairs.   
  
***  
  
'You okay?' Jesse asked as Shalimar walked through the French windows into the back garden. He turned to look at her and saw something in her eyes which he couldn't quite describe. He knew she was jealous and worried about Brennan and his mission but there was something else. The confident feral that he had grown to look upon as a sister wasn't herself. She didn't seem pissed off by anything that was going on, she just seemed to want to fade into the background. And Jesse knew Shalimar well enough to know that that wasn't like her at all.   
  
'Yeah, why wouldn't I be?'  
  
Jesse raised his eyebrows at her and she sighed. She never could lie to Jesse very convincingly.   
  
'Alright, so I'm a little pissed off about Brennan going into this, but trust me, I'll get over it.'  
  
'Why do you have to get over it?'  
  
She looked away from Jesse's gaze and thought about the question. Maybe Jesse was right, maybe she shouldn't have to get over it. She had never really thought of it like that but it made a lot more sense. She liked Brennan, more than liked him. She had always assumed that he never liked her like that, that he thought they were just good friends but the second time they had almost kissed after she came back from being captured by Gabriel he had initiated the almost kiss thing. It had all been him and she had gone along with it for obvious reasons. Surely if he had been the one to introduce the idea of kissing each other some part of him must have wanted her. She smiled at the idea that Brennan wanted her. It made her feel that bit better about wanting him.   
  
***  
  
Brennan walked out onto the balcony of the building. It looked out on the gardens and the gorgeous view beyond them of the hills with other mansions, all as different from each other as chalk and cheese. He looked down at the palm trees in the garden beyond and saw Jesse checking it all out. He watched as Shalimar walked out onto the grass, her blonde hair shimmering and reflecting the intense sunlight. Words were exchanged between the two of them and Brennan only managed to catch a few of them. His eyebrows rose as he caught the sound of his own name and Shalimar saying she would "get over it" wafting up to him on the soft, warm breeze.   
  
'Brennan,' came Lexa's voice through the open doors.   
  
He turned to look at her and followed as she continued to give him the guided tour of the mansion, his mind still lingering with the conversation between Shalimar and Jesse. He was intrigued by their exchange but he was more intrigued by Shalimar's behaviour, around him especially. She had been acting so jealous recently and he wasn't entirely sure why, not that he completely minded. He liked Shalimar, had done since he had first set eyes on her and as he had gotten to know her and had seen what a sweet, compassionate person she was underneath the tough exterior his feelings had grown almost to the point where he couldn't bear seeing her with another guy. But nothing had happened between them, nothing concrete anyway, nothing that a relationship could be built on. And after the events of the past couple of weeks there was no reason she would trust anyone, not even Brennan. She had already lost too many people in her life and he knew she wouldn't be able to cope with losing another friend even if it was only so their relationship could move to the next level.   
  
He shook his head as all the emotions he felt for Shalimar came flooding in on him, threatening to overwhelm him. He walked out of the bedroom that was going to be his for the next few weeks, closing the doors quietly behind him.   
  
***  
  
'So, when is Brennan moving in?' Jesse asked as he pulled up one of the four stools that were placed around the breakfast bar in the kitchen.   
  
'Tomorrow,' Lexa replied. 'And he has to make a big entrance. Everyone in the immediate vicinity has to be gossiping about exactly how much money you have by nightfall,' Lexa said as she turned to look at Brennan.  
  
He rolled his eyes. He could tell already that he was going to hate this particular experience. He didn't like doing the flash with money thing, it had never been his style. He liked the benefits of having a little extra cash but that didn't mean he wanted to flaunt it for all to see.   
  
Shalimar walked through the door that led from the garden to the kitchen. She had been checking out the perimeter of the estate. She had also wanted to avoid Brennan for a while. She had heard Lexa's voice calling Brennan whilst she and Jesse were talking and had turned round just in time to see Brennan walking off the balcony. She really hoped he hadn't heard anything but the chances of that were slim. She looked up and her eyes immediately found Brennan's penetrating gaze.   
  
Jesse looked at the pair, caught up in their own little world and decided it was probably best if he and Lexa left them to it.   
  
'Lexa, you wanna go do that thing now?'  
  
'What thing?' she replied.  
  
'You know that thing we have to do.'  
  
'Jess, I'm at a loss as to what thing it is we have to do,' she said. She looked at Brennan and Shalimar and finally got why Jesse was so keen to leave. She however would much rather see the show. 'Plus, I don't really wanna do the thing that you're talking about.'  
  
'Yeah you do,' said Jesse, as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room.   
  
'So,' began Shalimar after a long pause. 'This is your home for the next few weeks.'  
  
'Why do we never actually talk about what's going on between us?' Brennan asked. He was frustrated with the lack of anything going on between Shalimar and himself. And it wasn't just that nothing was happening but nobody seemed willing to talk about the nothing.   
  
'I don't know,' Shalimar replied as she walked over to the long white counter. She jumped up to sit on it and looked at Brennan.   
  
'How many times have we almost kissed now?' he asked with a smile. 'And how many times have we not, and then walked away pretending like it never happened?'   
  
'Too many to count. Its exasperating, you know?' Shalimar replied. She had wanted to talk to someone about what was going on between her and Brennan for so long and now, finally everything was coming out, they were both breaking down the walls which had resided around them for so long. It was like a burden was being lifted from her shoulders and she could finally start breathing.   
  
Brennan walked the few steps it took him to stand in front of Shalimar and looked into her eyes. 'I know what you mean,' he said quietly. He breathed in slowly, trying to slow the fast beating of his heart and as he did so he breathed in Shalimar's scent. It was intoxicating. He could smell her shampoo, and the moisturizer she used and the perfume, fresh and invigorating that she had sprayed herself with before they left Sanctuary.   
  
He blinked a few times in suprise as he felt Shalimar's lips against his own. One arm wrapped around her waist while the other reached for her hair. He eased her off the counter so she was standing on the floor and gradually their kisses became less gentle, soft and more passionate and intense.   
  
Eventually, once the necessity to breathe became more urgent, they pulled apart. Both chests rose and fell as they looked into each others eyes, all the frustration of the past few months falling away.   
  
'Shalimar, Brennan,' came Jesse's voice over their comlinks.   
  
'We should probably go,' said Shalimar. She smiled at Brennan's obvious reluctance and reached her arms round to pry his hands apart so that she could be released from his strong hold. 'Come on, we have to get out of here so you can be made into an obnoxious rich guy.'  
  
She took one of his hands in hers and dragged him out of the kitchen, both of them smiling like they had just won a million dollars. 


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the second installment of Golddigger. I was so happy to get such a great response from all of you for the first chapter and hope you will all continue to review. It may be a while till the next chapters up (atleast a couple of days, possibly a week) because I really have to do some schoolwork before I get kicked out. But the more you review the quicker I'll write...  
  
***  
  
'You cannot be serious about actually wanting me to wear this.'  
  
'I'm perfectly serious and lo be it for me to pay you a compliment, but you don't look bad,' Lexa replied.   
  
Brennan stared at his reflection in the full length mirror. He had been trying on outfits, mostly for the girls benefit for the past half hour and was getting seriously tired of the whole experience. Shalimar's smile caught his gaze in the glass and he smirked, happy to see that atleast she was enjoying herself.   
  
'Looking good,' Jesse crooned as he walked through the door. He had safely avoided the fashion show and had opted to sort out the transfer of cash from the Dominion to Brennan's new bank account. The Dominion had set up and were now insisting on funding the mission. It didn't put Jesse at ease. He already felt like Mutant X was in their pocket without them funding their missions as well. But he didn't know where else they were gonna get the cash to complete Brennan's transformation, so for now he simply had to put up with it.   
  
He sat down next to Shalimar and smirked at Brennan. He was wearing a tailored suit in black, a black shirt and some pretty flash silver jewellry. Shalimar looked him up and down. She hated to admit that Lexa was right about anything but Brennan did not look bad at all. Being so tall he managed to pull off the outfit, even the bling. She breathed out slowly, trying to restrain herself from jumping up and ripping the outfit off. His eyes met hers and she raised her eyebrows. She knew exactly what he was thinking and she could tell he knew her thoughts backwards.  
  
Brennan sighed. He hated the whole dressing up thing. He had done it when he was in the process of conning people but that was to present a certain image. If he wore classy clothes then people tended to take him a little more seriously. But since joining Mutant X he had lived in jeans. His reluctance to wear the smart suits was representative of the fact that he didn't want to take part in the mission at all. It smacked of pettiness, something that the Dominion wanted the team to do but wanted them to ask no questions about. Brennan had learnt a long time ago that there were some things that he simply wasn't told. Adam had made it abundantly clear that there were certain things that he wasn't gonna make the members of Mutant X aware of and Brennan had learnt to deal with it because if he was being perfectly honest he trusted Adam. And he wasn't gonna make it into a big deal for the sake of everyone else. They could all do without that kind of hassle. But Brennan didn't know the Dominion and he didn't know Lexa and both entities were suspicious to him.   
  
'I'm gonna go finalize everything about tomorrow,' Jesse said as he got up from the bed.   
  
'I'll come and help you,' Lexa replied. She wanted to make sure that everything would be perfect. She was not prepared for this mission to get screwed up because she hadn't checked everything out when she had the chance.   
  
'So I can get out of these clothes then?' Brennan asked.   
  
Lexa nodded and smirked as she walked out of the room behind Jesse.   
  
Shalimar stood and started folding numerous suits into a suitcase. She felt arms wrapping themselves around her waist and straightened herself up so her back was leaning against his chest. She could feel his steady heartbeat against her skin and tilted her head into the nook of Brennan's neck. She couldn't quite believe that after so much time they were finally together. Looking back on all the times they had flirted and almost kissed she could laugh at herself and Brennan. They had both been so scared of something that should have been an excuse for them to jump for joy. She was sad that they had wasted so much time though. And now Brennan was going away for who knew how long and if the plan worked she wouldn't get the chance to spend any time with him over atleast the next few weeks.   
  
'You gonna miss me?'  
  
'I might do,' she replied as she twisted in his strong arms so she was facing him. 'But to be perfectly honest I'll probably just go out and hook up with some random guy while you're gone.'  
  
'Don't even joke about that kind of thing.'  
  
'Who says I'm jo...' Her words weren't given the chance to escape from her mouth however as her lips were captured by Brennan's. He pulled her into him and she gave herself up completely. Within minutes they were lying on Brennan's bed, their limbs entangled in each other and an assortment of ties, shirts and trousers.   
  
***  
  
The sun forced itself through Shalimar's eyelids and she squeezed them shut tighter as she rolled over. Her hand encountered Brennan's bare chest and her eyes shot open as she tried to remember what it was that she had done the night before. As she stared at the contours of his face it all came flooding back to her and she smiled. She continued to stare at him, just watching him as he breathed in and out, slowly, steadily. His chest rose and fell and he looked utterly peaceful.   
  
She was awoken from her reverie as Brennan's breathing quickened in pace and his lids flickered open to reveal deep brown eyes that she had drowned in the night before. He rolled over onto his side and came face to face with the feral. He smiled sleepily and his hand slipped over the sheets to wrap around her waist, drawing her closer. She nuzzled her head into his neck and he pulled her even closer to him. A smile spread across both their faces. They had both been waiting for so long, there had been so much tension and now they were finally there, in that place where they could love each other openly.   
  
'So, are we going to tell Jesse and Lexa?'  
  
Shalimar lifted her head to look into Brennan's eyes.   
  
'Do you want to?' she asked quietly. She wasn't sure what to say or do. She told Jesse everything, always had but her and Brennan had both been holding back for so long because they were worried about what Jesse's reaction would be. She didn't want to screw up the thing she and Brennan had just found because they were too eager to shout it from the rooftops.   
  
'I don't want to wreck this,' Brennan replied.   
  
'So we don't tell them?'  
  
'Not yet. But only if that's okay with you,' he added quickly.  
  
  
  
Shalimar smiled and kissed him gently on his lips. One of her hands cupped his cheek and the kisses became more urgent, desperate. They wanted each other completely and didn't want to have to waste any more time.   
  
***  
  
Her liquid blue eyes watched as the car slid smoothly past her, but she wasn't paying attention to the car; it was the person driving the vehicle who interested her. The corner of her mouth lifted as her eyes fixed on her prey. The predator in her came alive, wishing, hoping to be freed from the heavy constraints she had placed upon it. The animal inside of her was a hard beast to control and it had taken her a lot of time and energy to try and keep it behind bars till she required it to be unleashed.   
  
She swung her handbag over her shoulder as the van which was following the car along the road drove past. She turned and continued to walk down the road, her hips swaying, drawing many attentive stares, most from men who should have known better. The smooth, silky sheath of black hair hung down her back, her slender arms hung loosely at her sides, swinging to the rhythm of her casual stroll.   
  
She had been staying in Beverly Hills for a couple of weeks and had settled easily into the pace of that world. She had moved on after receiving a cash bonus from a guy who had hardly been left begging on the streets. She wasn't proud of her line of work and it wasn't that she had just gotten used to a better style of life, though that was part of it. Her real reason for conning men out of cash was that she was running from a faceless enemy. She had never seen the people hunting for her, she had no idea why they wanted her so badly but she had realised a long time ago that it was probably a good idea to keep out of their way. So she had gone from town to town, city to city creating new identities for herself and getting a little compensation for the fact that she was being chased.   
  
And she had just found her newest target.   
  
***  
  
Shalimar's feet hit the ground of the driveway and walked around the edge of the truck that was carrying all of Brennan's stuff. It wasn't really his and he in no way needed any of it but as Lexa had told them all a million times, image was everything. Shalimar and Lexa had been hidden in the truck during the ride through town while Jesse drove. Shalimar was coming because she wanted to say goodbye to Brennan, hopefully without anyone else in the room, and Lexa was being all kinds of paranoid about whether or not everything was going according to plan.   
  
Brennan stepped out of the sportscar Lexa had insisted on renting for his stay in Beverly Hills. He shut the door behind him and walked towards Shalimar to help her with the box she was carrying into the house. But with a quick glance towards the front gates and one warning look from Lexa he turned on his heel as naturally as he could and walked into the cool atmosphere of the mansion.   
  
Once all the stuff that he didn't need or want had been brought in, the team sat round the table in the dining room. Shalimar was getting cranky at the though of leaving Brennan behind but everytime she looked at him and he smiled in at her she could only grin and blush like a love sick puppy. She was amazed at the complete transformation from strong, confident, independent woman to pile of mush that had taken place in just a couple of hours.   
  
'We should go,' Jesse said as he stood up. Lexa followed suit as did a reluctant Shalimar.   
  
'What are you doing?' Lexa asked, confusion on her face.   
  
Shalimar looked at her like she was crazy as did the others.   
  
'Oh my God!' exclaimed Lexa, her eyes growing wider. 'I completely forgot to tell you.'  
  
'Tell me what?' Shalimar said, her expression changing from bemusement to anger. How had she known that Lexa would find some way to screw her over at the last minute?  
  
'You're staying here as Brennan's housekeeper.'  
  
'What?!' 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three is up. I'm so happy to hear that there are so many of you enjoying reading this story. The feedback has been excellent and I'm practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. So please, feel free to continue with all the reviews, they are giving me the best warm and fuzzy feelings ever. (And yes, I am the one who writes the TVTome reviews for Mutant X...I have to catch up on those so much and will try real soon, happy to hear that someone's actually reading them.)  
  
I hope you all enjoy this chapter just as much as you did the last two. I promise to try and write chapter four as soon as possible but life may get in the way as tends to happen.   
  
***  
  
'Hi Gwen.'  
  
Her head turned towards the sound as she tried to pinpoint where the voice had come from. She smiled as her eyes alighted on the bartender. He was leaning against a table, a wet cloth in front of him and some empty glasses in his other hand. She smiled in reply and walked out onto the verandah which looked out onto fields of green, the occasional house, contrasting with the vibrant green background. She raised the pair of designer sunglasses from the ridge of her nose to survey the landscape before her in all its true glory. She had visited the bar atleast ten times since showing up in Beverly Hills and everytime her breath was taken away by the view. She couldn't ever have imagined that there would be places so beautiful in the world.   
  
'You want your usual?'  
  
She lowered her sunglasses back to their original place and turned, a smile on her face.   
  
'I think I'll just have an orange juice today,' she replied brightly.   
  
'Be right with you.'  
  
She watched as James walked away. Normally she didn't get a chance to get to know anyone really well but somehow he had become more involved in her life. She didn't mind, she had grown to be incredibly selective about her friends so when someone she liked liked her back she was not going to complain.   
  
She took a seat at one of the tables with an umbrella to shade her from the intense midday sun. She took out her laptop from her bag and set it out on the table in front of her. As soon as the machine was turned on she started typing. She had learnt from her first experience of conning people that she should always be prepared for every eventuality. She had almost been caught out the first time, a rookie mistake and had been forced to cut loose and run. Since then she had checked all the details, rechecked them and then checked them all over again. She was the grown female equivalent of a boy scout.   
  
In the couple of hours since she had seen the new guy move in she had found out a suprising amount. Everyone seemed to have a different story about him but the name and address were always the same. He was called Thomas Carter and he had just moved into one of the more expensive mansions on the hill. Other than that though Lucy was at a loss. She had heard from one person that he was a banker from the city looking to get away from the fast paced life because he had experienced a mental breakdown and had killed his wife with a squash racket. From another person she had heard that he was British royalty and wanted to bring his many mistresses to America so he could keep them secret. Her personal favourite was that he needed a new house and really liked the Californian weather. Given her hectic lifestyle, full of danger and intrigue, she always liked getting away from that and she favoured the simple stories.   
  
***  
  
Brennan winced as the cupboard door slammed. He looked over at Shalimar. She had been storming around for over half an hour, and he was developing a serious headache from all the noise.   
  
'Shal...'  
  
'I can't believe she did this to me. Why would she want to piss me off this much? She knows that I'll slap her right?'  
  
'Shal...'  
  
Brennan closed his eyes as Shalimar's interruption was punctuated with a slam of the fridge door. He was torn between letting her rant her frustration away or trying to win her over by convincing that the world wasn't coming to an end simply because she had to hang out with him a little bit longer. Coming to the conclusion that he wouldn't last till she ranted it out he stood up and walked over to where she was standing.   
  
'Shal...' he tried again.   
  
'I just don't understand why she insists on doing this kind of thing to me. Why couldn't she just have told me when we first started? Sure, I would have been a little angry but I would have gotten over it. But no, Lexa Pierce can't do things like normal people cos she has to be special and...'  
  
'SHALIMAR!'  
  
She spun round in shock at the sound of Brennan's voice and stared at him. He looked beyond tired and she immediately realised how much she had put him through in the past 30 minutes. She walked towards him with her most apologetic look on her face.   
  
'You okay?' she asked quietly, resting her hands on his chest and looking up into his face.  
  
He raised his eyebrows at her, the look immediately giving her the distinct impression that he wasn't.  
  
'I have an idea,' she said as she started to unbutton his black shirt. 'How about we go upstairs and find a room that I can stay in.'  
  
Brennan smirked at the idea.   
  
'Sounds good,' he said, pulling Shalimar's top over her head, mussing up her blonde hair in the process. Giving up on the buttons Shalimar ripped Brennan's shirt off and threw it over her shoulder so that it landed in the sink. Their mouths met in a passionate kiss and they then began the difficult task of making their way through the house without falling over or banging into anything that might break and cost a lot of money.  
  
Eventually and with much effort on both their parts they made their way into Brennan's huge master bedroom. Shalimar fell back onto the bed taking Brennan with her.   
  
Gradually sunlight faded over the horizon. The lights in houses all over the hills were switched on, shining like beacons in the darkness, crickets started chirping and while Brennan and Shalimar enjoyed each others company Lucy went to bed alone after deciding on her plan of action.  
  
***  
  
'What was that?' asked Brennan as he raised his head from the pure white pillow. He looked across the minimalist room towards the window and the figure of Shalimar. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and Brennan could faintly hear the noises from outside.   
  
Shalimar peered over the edge of the window sill, down towards the driveway and Brennan's front door. She pulled back almost instantly as she saw a woman walk out from beneath the porch and look up at all the windows in turn. Shalimar turned and walked quickly back into the room, picking up items of clothing as she went. Her and Brennan had hardly been worried about being neat and tidy last night and Shalimar was left wondering where her top was before she noticed it draped across a lamp shade in the corner.   
  
'Lucy Xiang is ringing your doorbell, and in order for her to want to seduce you so we can trick her into playing a part in our plan, she has to believe that you're available, which means that me being in your bedroom, wearing one of your shirts and no underwear would probably not be the best situation right now,' Shalimar said frantically as she started pulling on clothes.   
  
'Shal. Breathe,' Brennan said in reply. He rolled out of the king sized bed and walked towards the suitcase which he hadn't unpacked yet. He unzipped it and hauled out some clothes. He pulled a t-shirt over his head and yanked his jeans on. The doorbell rang again and Shalimar whispered a hasty 'Go!' He walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs, trying to get his hair to stop sticking up on end like he had been in a nasty accident involving the power grid of an entire city and some kind of short circuit situation. He saw her petite figure through the frosted glass of the front door and jogged across the marble floor.  
  
'Hi,' he said as brightly as he could as he opened the door. He blinked slightly in the bright sunshine and smiled.   
  
'Hi,' she replied. He looked a little cuter than he had in the car yesterday and she was taken aback by his smile. She held out the basket she had brought with her.   
  
'I brought you a welcome to the neighbourhood gift, just to say...welcome to the neighbourhood.'  
  
'You shouldn't have,' Brennan replied. He held out his arm and ushered her into the front hall. 'If I can find the lounge we can go in there. I haven't really had a chance to get to know the layout of the place yet so you'll have to forgive me if I'm completely lost.'  
  
She laughed. 'Maybe I could help you find it,' she offered.   
  
'Thanks Luc...' Brennan paused as he realised that not only had she not introduced herself but she had probably changed her name and wouldn't go by Lucy anymore. He turned quickly, trying to hide the cringe on his face.   
  
'Excuse me?' she asked. She couldn't believe he had just called her by her real name. She thought she had done a good job of covering for herself but she had been getting strange vibes off him the minute she walked in the front door. She should have known that something was up and she should have bailed.   
  
'My housekeeper. Her names Lucille, I thought maybe she should get these flowers in water.'   
  
'Oh,' she replied. 'Yeah, she probably should, they'll wilt so quickly in this heat and humidity.'  
  
'Lucille!' Brennan called up the stairs. When, predictably no one appeared he made his excuses and walked up the stairs, leaving Lucy to breathe a huge sigh of relief.   
  
'Calm down, calm down, calm down,' she berated herself as she walked around the room, looking in at doorways as she passed to try and see what the house was like, and more importantly what the money would be like.   
  
'Ow!' exclaimed Shalimar as Brennan pushed open the door to his room. She stepped back and rubbed the side of her head, which had moments before been pressed against the wood so she could try and hear something of the conversation.   
  
'Are you okay?'  
  
'Yeah,' Shalimar replied, rolling her eyes.   
  
'Just so you know, you're now answering to the name Lucille.'  
  
Shalimar stared at Brennan in bewilderment.   
  
'I'm an idiot, don't ask,' he explained.   
  
He turned to walk out of the door to go and rejoin his guest.  
  
'You're names Thomas Carter.' Shalimar said. He turned to look at her with a look that told her he wasn't stupid.   
  
'What? You forgot my name.' 


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the fourth chapter. I hope you all enjoy this one. I'm still loving the reviews and I hope you are all still liking the story. I'm starting to introduce some Shal/Bren angst cos every story has to have some of that. And I have had some requests for a Jesse/Lexa subplot so if that's what rocks your boat then please let me know and I'll be sure to write something along those lines.   
  
***  
  
'How are they getting on?'   
  
Lexa looked up to see Jesse walking towards her across the main hall of Sanctuary.   
  
'Shalimar just updated me as to how the missions working out. It seems to be going fine but I can't imagine that Shalimar would really confide in me if anything had gone wrong so...'   
  
'Do you want me to talk to her?' Jesse asked. He knew that Shalimar didn't trust Lexa yet, despite his many attempts to get the two women to talk. And he really couldn't blame her all that much. Lexa was a closed book as far as he was concerned and he had spent more time with her than either Brennan or Shalimar. He had the feeling that he was just scratching at the surface of what Lexa was really like. Unlike Shalimar and Brennan though, he really wanted to knock down her walls, uncover what lay beneath the exterior. He had a feeling that Lexa could turn out to be quite a woman once you got to know her.   
  
'If you think you can get anymore out of her, then please, feel free,' Lexa offered as she turned back to the computer screen. The Dominion had sent her another e-mail to check the progress of Brennan. Lexa knew exactly how much pressure was being placed on her shoulders, the Dominion had made that perfectly clear to her in the correspondence. She was young and new and had a lot to prove.   
  
It seemed like nobody truly trusted her. The Dominion clearly thought she was going to screw up, Brennan and Shalimar thought she was the antichrist. Jesse was the only one she couldn't figure out. He had been nice to her ever since she had shown up in Sanctuary, despite the events previous to that moment, and even when she didn't tell the team everything, Jesse still supported her. She couldn't work out whether it was because he was being genuinely friendly or because he was covering up his suspicions really well. Either way, she wasn't that bothered, she could really do with a friend and figured she couldn't do better than Jesse.   
  
'I'll call her in a while. She gets two calls from us in the space of five minutes she's gonna get really pissed off.'  
  
He walked across the room and sat down at one of the computers. His priority was Shalimar and Brennan but that did not mean that all the other new mutants slept. They still had their problems that needed solving.   
  
***  
  
Brennan walked slowly down the stairs, trying to stall the moment when he would have to face Lucy or whatever the hell her name was. He didn't want to make any more mistakes, but it was hard, trying to remember everything that he was supposed to whilst trying to make the lies convincing. Plus, it didn't help that she was a telempath. He knew, from his experiences with Emma that it was going to be nigh impossible for him to trick this woman into thinking he was Thomas Carter, not a new mutant. He paused, wondering how on earth he was going to fool her. He had to believe that he was Thomas Carter, as schizophrenic as that might have sounded. It would be just like when he conned people before he joined Mutant X. That had always been fun and even though the stakes had been raised, he could still have a good time with this mission.   
  
He walked down the remaining stairs with a spring in his step, thinking more optimistically than he had been before. He could get through this, it would be a complete breeze. He had fooled Emma a couple of times and if he could do that to one of the most powerful empaths ever, then he could certainly fool this chick.   
  
She turned to face Thomas as he strolled into the room. He looked more at ease than he had done before and his attitude relaxed her too. She smiled, slightly more genuinely than before. She often wished that her psionic abilities were slightly more in tune than her feral ones. It would have made her job a whole lot easier but instead of being half and half she appeared to be more like 70/30 with her feral side being dominant. She only really received vibes, instead of getting actual images. It was like these feelings in her gut instead of a head thing. But she could manipulate people's feelings, her main reason for picking the business she had. She had found, from an early age that she could get anybody to fall down on their hands and knees and worship her. Or hand over a ton of cash. It was a helpful gift, one that she didn't necessarily relish using, but one that served her well.   
  
'Sorry about that,' Brennan said in most charming manner. He motioned with his arm for her to take a seat.  
  
'Would you like something to drink?' She nodded in reply and Brennan made to leave the room when he remembered the reason why Shalimar was there with him. He walked to the door and called out into the cavernous house, hoping that she could hear him. A few seconds passed before he heard the sound of Shalimar's shoes, and a few more went by before he saw her disgruntled face.   
  
'Would you mind getting us some drinks?'   
  
Shalimar's jaw dropped. She had certainly not expected when this job was forced upon her that she would have to actually play at being Brennan's servant.   
  
'Be right there,' she said in a sickly sweet voice.   
  
Brennan smirked as he turned. He knew that would piss Shalimar off. He sat down in one of the chairs opposite the couch which Lucy had taken.   
  
'I'm sorry, I never introduced myself. My names Thomas Carter.'  
  
'I'm Gwen Tyler,' she replied. She looked across to the entrance as Shalimar walked in, wearing a false smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.   
  
'Can I get you something to drink? Something to eat, maybe?' She was bored with the mission already and not too worried about hiding her emotions from the telempathic radar. She, unlike Brennan had taken it upon herself to read the profile given to the team by the Dominion. She didn't trust them and had taken everything they said with a pinch of salt but having double checked it all on the new mutant database she had found out exactly what kind of mutant Lucy was. And she knew that she could get away with a certain amount in the psionics presence. She wasn't like Emma, didn't have that kind of power.   
  
'I'll just have water, thank you,' replied Gwen. She was definitely picking up on some bad vibes from the woman standing in front of her. Aggression and frustration were coming off of her in swells and she had the distinct impression that not all the bad feeling was directed at her.   
  
'The same, thanks Lucille,' Brennan said.   
  
'So, have you lived here long?' he asked as Shalimar left.   
  
'A few months. I moved here from Chicago.'  
  
'Why did you decide to come here?'  
  
'I guess the weather pretty much swayed it for me. I've never really been one for cold climates so it was a relief to get out of the windy city,' she said, trying to maintain an open, cheerful tone. She didn't want to tell him too much but at the same time had to make sure that she didn't appear suspiciously unwilling to give any information.  
  
'Must have been quite a change.'  
  
'Yeah. So why did you decide to move here?'  
  
'I'm moving my business over here. And the climate won me over too. The company is of course an added bonus,' he replied smoothly, really getting into character. He looked up to see Shalimar standing in the doorway. Gwen glanced over too and Shalimar barely managed to plaster a smile on her face in time. She could not believe Brennan. The woman had only been in the house five minutes and he was already hitting on her. Shalimar knew it was all part of an act but she reserved the right as his girlfriend to be completely pissed off.   
  
She walked towards Gwen and placed her drink on the table in front of her. She then proceeded to walk over to Brennan and held the ice cold water out for him to take. He raised his arm to take the glass but milliseconds before his hand reached hers she let the glass drop. It sailed through the air, the water spilling instantly, right onto Brennan's jeans, leaving a huge wet patch on the material. The glass continued to fly and landed on the polished wooden floor with a smash as the glass cracked and shards slid across the wood.   
  
'Oh my God! I'm so sorry. Are you okay?' Shalimar asked Brennan, her eyes wide and innocent.   
  
'Yeah, I'm just fine!' Brennan snapped. He looked into Shalimar's eyes as she bent down in front of him and saw two golden orbs staring back at him. He frowned at her as her regular eyes returned and she smirked. Shalimar straightened her legs as she stood up.   
  
'I'll go fetch the dustpan and brush, shall I?'  
  
'I should leave,' said Gwen. She had no idea what was going on between the two people stood in front of her but she did not want to get in the way. She stood and picked up her handbag.   
  
'That's probably a good idea,' said Brennan. He walked her out into the hallway, leaving Shalimar behind to tidy up the mess she had inappropriately caused.   
  
'Would you like to meet up for a drink sometime this week?' asked Gwen, hoping to regain some of the ground she had lost.   
  
'That would be good. How do I get hold of you?'   
  
'Here's my phone number,' she said as she pulled a piece of paper and a pen out of her bag and proceeded to write her digits on it. She handed it to Brennan and turned, opening the door and walking out into the blazing sunshine.   
  
'I'll call you,' Brennan said, as he resumed his charming business man exterior.   
  
He watched as Gwen walked down the tree lined drive and out through the wrought iron gates, before turning back into the house and closing the door behind him with a push of his foot. He returned to the lounge but Shalimar had disappeared.   
  
'Shalimar?' he called out, knowing that she wouldn't reply. He had no idea what it was that had warranted her 'accident' but she was not going to get away with it.   
  
He took the stairs two at a time and pushed open the door to his bedroom with such force that it hit the wall, leaving cracking plaster and a dent. He saw the glass doors leading out onto the balcony swinging lightly in the breeze and walked forward purposefully. He went through the doors and saw Shalimar looking out at the view, her back towards him.   
  
'Shalimar? What is your problem? You're completely screwing up the mission...'  
  
His voice trailed out as Shalimar spun around and glared at him.   
  
'I know I'm screwing up the assignment. But do you really think that I care about the goddam mission when all I can see is you drooling all over her.' She had moved past pissed and had reached furious. Yes, the mission was important but didn't Brennan think the same could be said for their relationship?   
  
'What do you mean, drooling all over her? I was being nice, I was playing a part,' Brennan replied. He closed the gap between them, took hold of her shoulders and lowered his tone. 'Look, Shal, I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I was just trying to make it convincing.'  
  
Shalimar sighed as she leant into him. 'I know, I'm just being stupid.'  
  
'Yeah, you are.' Brennan smiled to himself. He knew Shalimar was protective but this was a whole new level. 'And do I sense the green eyed monster?'  
  
Shalimar pulled away sharply and crossed her arms over her chest. 'I can't believe you're making this into a joke.'  
  
'Shal...'  
  
'No, Brennan. My feelings are not something to be laughed at.' She pushed past him and as Brennan's shoulders drooped and he leant against the stone balustrade he heard the door to his room slam and a fainter bang as Shalimar's own door shut behind her. 


	5. Chapter 5

I'm still getting some great reviews from all of you reading and enjoying the story. I'm so happy about that. And I have decided to add a little bit of a Jesse/Lexa angle to it just to break up the Brennan/Shalimar storyline (though it appears that none of you want me to stop talking about the latter pair). I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the ones that came before it and please take the time to review again.   
  
***  
  
Shalimar pushed open the French windows and breathed in the fresh morning air. Dew touched every leaf, every blade of grass and the heat from the previous day had evaporated. Not that it wouldn't return as the day wore on but at that moment Shalimar could smell, feel, hear everything.   
  
She lifted the mug of black coffee to her lips and took a deep sip. She hadn't been able to sleep at all the previous night. The argument with Brennan had been the main factor adding to her insomnia but her feral instinct was to hunt and that hadn't helped either. She had developed, as the moon rose further into the sky a burning desire to leave the mansion and wander around the surrounding area. Maybe it was that her feral side didn't like change. The feral in her was curious about where it was. But maybe it was just that she didn't want to spend the night in the house with Brennan.   
  
She hated when they argued, not that they did very much. They had always disagreed about Adam's way of not telling them anything: while Brennan had demanded to know the truth about everything, Shalimar had been happy enough leaving that decision up to Adam, she had trusted him wholeheartedly. She figured that was why she didn't trust Lexa at all. Adam had let her down. He had broken down the protective barriers she had put up around her and then he had betrayed her. Shalimar had decided that she was not going to make that mistake ever again. So, allowing Brennan access to every inch of her soul, giving herself up to him so completely had been a huge leap of faith for her. She didn't know if Brennan would understand but that was why she had been so angry. It wasn't jealousy, it was the fact that he seemed to be taking her for granted, he had been doing exactly what Adam always did. She shouldn't have overreacted like she did but the part of her that governed reason had been temporarily dominated by her more irrational side.   
  
She placed one bare foot onto the damp grass and closed her eyes, relishing the cool feeling that spread through her. The night, though restless had atleast given her some perspective on the situation at hand. The mission was important and she could not under any circumstances let her emotions override her judgment like they had done the day before. That was a sure fire way to get found out and there was no way she was going to let Lexa hold anything like that over her. There was only one thing she could do to get through it though.  
  
She visibly stiffened as she heard the heavy padding of Brennan's bare feet as he walked through the kitchen towards the open doors. She heard him sniff in the morning air and she could feel his gaze on her back. She didn't want to turn around and face him, admit that she had been an idiot and ask for forgiveness. But she had to solve this, she had to make this better otherwise they wouldn't be able to work together.   
  
'I made coffee,' she said without turning the 180 degrees required to face him.   
  
Brennan smiled. She was trying atleast, though it was a pretty pitiful attempt at an apology, one that he knew she wanted to give. He had known that the mission would prove to be difficult for both of them but he could never have predicted that they would completely fall out over it.  
  
He stepped forward but stopped as Shalimar rotated round to look straight into his eyes. He would happily have broken the look but his eyes were drawn into hers like there was magnetic pull.   
  
'I can't do this,' she said.   
  
'Can't do what?' Brennan asked.  
  
'I can't do this, with you. I can't watch you and her together. I can't wait the hours till I get you back. I can't handle that. I thought I could rise above it, thought I could convince myself that it wasn't so bad, that you didn't like her like that...'  
  
'I don't,' Brennan cried.   
  
'I know. But its too hard to watch you even pretending you do.'  
  
'So what do you want to do?' Brennan asked, quietly. He already knew but had to hear it from her.   
  
'We can't be together,' she said, after a long pause as she tried to find the words to say what she meant.  
  
He looked into her eyes. They were pooling with unshed tears and he could see that she hated what she was being forced to do but that she was determined to get through it.   
  
'Not forever or anything like that, just until the assignments over.'  
  
'So we're gonna temporarily break up,' Brennan asked. He could see her point but there was no way he was gonna let this happen without a fight.  
  
'Yeah,' Shalimar replied.   
  
'And you're just doing this because you think it'll be a good thing for our relationship,' Brennan said, his voice rising in volume.   
  
'Yes. If we stay together we're only going to end up arguing and fighting and then we're gonna break up for real. And I can't watch that happen to us because I love you too much...'  
  
Shalimar closed her mouth quickly as she realised what had just come out. Her and Brennan had never talked about the possibility that they might love each other. Looking across at the tall man standing in front of her she saw that he was shocked by it too.   
  
'You love me?' he asked as he closed the small amount of distance between the two of them.   
  
'I...' she faltered, unsure what to say to him.   
  
'You love me,' he said with more confidence. The corner of his mouth lifted and he raised his eyebrows as Shalimar shot him a look which told him that in no uncertain terms would she kick his ass for pushing the topic. But Brennan was not scared of Shalimar, especially not when she was dressed in a dressing gown.  
  
'Okay, maybe, a little.'  
  
'Maybe a lot,' he said. The smile disappeared as he realised, just like Shalimar had that they couldn't be together.   
  
'I get it,' he said. 'And if you're sure that its the right way to deal with this then I'll go along with it.'  
  
Shalimar looked up into his brown eyes. 'Thank you,' she said with a melancholy smile. She was happy that he had allowed her to go through with her plan but that didn't mean she was necessarily very happy about the result.   
  
'You want a top up?' Brennan asked, gesturing at her mug.   
  
'Yeah,' she said, grateful that he was taking any attention away from the conversation they had just had. He walked back into the house and Shalimar followed, leaving the coolness of the outside world behind.   
  
***  
  
'Did you call them yet?' Lexa asked as she walked into the kitchen. Jesse was leaning on one of the counters waiting for the coffee to drip into the pot.   
  
'I talked to Shalimar last night but she was just as evasive as she was with you so I thought it was probably best if we left talking to her until she'd gotten over whatever it was.'  
  
Lexa sat down on one of the stools placed around the breakfast bar in the middle of the room. She wanted to know what was going on in the mansion not simply out of curiosity like Jesse. He wanted updates because Shalimar and Brennan were like family to him, the only family he truly had and he wanted to make sure they were okay. Lexa on the other hand knew people who wanted updates of activity at the mansion. They were applying pressure to her more than before and she was feeling it. She rubbed her eyes trying to wake herself up a bit. The sleepless nights were just one of the effects of the mission but it was the one she was feeling most.   
  
'You okay?' Jesse asked as he lifted the pot and poured some coffee into two mugs, before walking over to where Lexa was sat and sitting down opposite her.   
  
'Thanks,' Lexa said as she took the much needed mug of caffeine. 'I'm fine, just a little tired.'  
  
'The Dominion?'   
  
Lexa looked into his clear blue eyes. She always managed to underestimate Jesse and what he knew. It was probably because he acted like such an innocent person, almost untouched by the things happening around him. She should have learnt that Jesse was acting, just like the rest of them. They were all playing at being somebody other than who they were and Jesse, it appeared was a pro.   
  
She nodded.   
  
'Maybe you should tell them to get off your back,' Jesse said. He hated what they did to Lexa. They were helpful when they wanted something and Lexa felt this innate need to play towards their every whim. She never stopped doing their bidding and yet she got nothing in return. They weren't paying her, they weren't, atleast not as far as he could see helping her find whatever it was she had lost. It was a completely one sided relationship with them taking everything she had to offer. He wanted to help but she wouldn't open up enough.   
  
'Yeah, I'll just go and e-mail them right now telling them to get lost,' she said in a mocking tone. She chuckled slightly before meeting Jesse's look head on. She suddenly stopped realising how serious he was.   
  
Jesse saw how uncomfortable he had made her so he stood up.  
  
'I'll go call Brennan. See if I can get a little more information out of him,' he said with a smile before turning and walking out of the room. Lexa watched as he left feeling her heart grow heavy within her chest. 


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks so much for all the reviews. I'm sorry its taken a while for this chapter but life keeps on insisting on getting in the way. I think I've finally worked out what direction I'm gonna take this story in so the updates should come a little faster...hopefully. Please take the time to review all over again, they're what keep me sane whilst writing fan fictions.  
  
***  
  
Lucy lifted the hanger off the metal rack, carried the deep red top to one of the mirrors in the shop and held it up against her so she could see how it looked. It was the day after she had first met Thomas and she was relaxing, not expecting him to call her. Like most men he would probably get round to picking up the phone during the course of the next week but if it took too long she would send him a psionic signal to ring her. She couldn't wait around forever for one guy.   
  
She placed the top back on the rail and walked toward the back where the shoes were located. The shops near the houses were small. Los Angeles may have been the home of everything big but the closer to Beverly Hills you got the more exclusive things became. She liked the small town atmosphere of the place, she could have stayed there for a lot longer if she wasn't being chased by people who wanted her dead or alive simply so they could experiment on her.   
  
Her whole life had been one long marathon and she was only now getting the chance to relax. She had finally lost the people who were chasing her. She knew they would catch up to her again but she was being given a chance to breathe, a chance to fill her lungs ready for the next leg of the race.   
  
She turned and saw Lucille, Thomas' housekeeper walk into the store. She had to admit, the woman was gorgeous and she certainly knew how to carry herself. She was confident in the way she moved, something not all people had. And it was even more rare for a woman to make it seem so natural. A lot of them looked like they were acting and it ended up seeming fake, not something that was so sexy.   
  
Lucy was still none the wiser as to why there had been so much tension at the mansion the day before. She couldn't imagine what could have happened between the two of them that would cause their to be so many emotions flying around between them. From what Thomas had told her Lucille was his housekeeper and that was that. But ferals were good at reading body language and they were both projecting the exact opposite. Thomas and Lucille shared looks, ones which weren't just to do with a working relationship. They had something deeper, they were both feeling things for each other that friends didn't have. Lucy wasn't sure how that was going to play out in her strategy but she was not prepared to let maybes and what ifs get in the way of her plans. She wasn't cold-hearted to the romantic comedy idea of the employee and employer falling for each other but their affinity wasn't her priority.   
  
She processed as quickly as possible the options she had. She didn't necessarily want to get caught in a conversation with Lucille. She didn't want to have to talk about her past, a topic which usually came up between people who didn't know each other very well. But she didn't want to seem rude. If Thomas found out that she had been a complete bitch to anyone his impression of her would be tainted for good and she would have to resort to her psionic abilities. And that took all the fun out of the game.   
  
***  
  
Shalimar walked into the shade provided by the clothes store. She had needed to get away from the house, more specifically Brennan. Things, despite their best efforts had fast become awkward and Shalimar couldn't hack the tension, not from Brennan, not after everything they had been through. She found it amazing how they could go through fire and water to save new mutants lives, they could face up to their scariest demons and yet they found it so hard to have a functional, normal relationship for five minutes. It was frustrating knowing that Brennan liked her and that she liked him and that, for reasons that she was beginning to doubt they were still apart. It was probably a good thing they had never told Jesse and Lexa. It would add far too many angles to the whole complicated affair.   
  
She looked across the shop, scanning the racks of clothing for anything that stood out. Instead of being caught by an outfit though her eyes met those of Lucy. She was standing next to a rack of sale shoes at the back of the shop and her piercing gaze rested on Shalimar's face. She felt the colour rise to her cheeks slightly but managed to control the slight panic she felt in time to flash a smile at Lucy.   
  
'Hi,' she called out, hoping that was the only conversation they would have to endure.   
  
'Hi, how are you?' Lucy said. She didn't want to seem to hasty in leaving.   
  
'I'm good. And you?' Shalimar replied. The courtesy conversation was fast turning into a full on one. And she didn't want that to happen. She rattled through a list of excuses she could make, hoping that Lucy wouldn't pick up on her immediate hostility.   
  
'Fine.' The pause hung heavy in the air between them, each of them wishing desperately that they could be elsewhere, any where.   
  
'Well, I have to do some shopping for food. I just stopped by quickly to pass some time,' Shalimar said in as polite a tone as she could muster.   
  
'Yeah. I have some business of my own to attend to. Tell Thomas to call me,' Lucy said as she walked past Shalimar with a smile and out of the shop.  
  
'I sure will,' Shalimar muttered under her breath as she allowed her shoulders to drop slightly in order to release tension. She rolled her eyes at how fake Lucy was. Maybe it was the feral in her that made her observe things other people didn't. She considered herself to be a pretty good judge of character anyway and Lucy was pushing all the wrong buttons.   
  
***  
  
'Hey Brennan?' He lowered his head from the breathtaking views to the comlink on his finger.   
  
'Yeah Jesse?' he asked, looking around him to make sure he was alone.   
  
'How's the assignment going?' Jesse asked. He was pretty sure from Shalimar's practically non existent answers on that subject that it wasn't going brilliantly.   
  
'Its fine,' Brennan said quietly.   
  
'Don't do that to me man.'  
  
'Do what?' asked Brennan, frowning as he tried to work out whatever it was that Jesse was talking about.   
  
'Clam up like Shalimar. I tried to talk to her about the mission and she got all quiet and five seconds later she had made her excuses and cut our connection. You cannot do that to me as well because Lexa and myself need to get the latest on Lucy,' Jesse said, his frustration beginning to show.   
  
Brennan breathed in deeply and ran his hand through his hair, mussing it up slightly and not giving a damn. The whole situation had gotten so screwed up and he didn't know how to fix it. What Shalimar had said made sense but seeing her all the time and not being able to get close to her was killing him. Even when they were just friends they would still hug each other, and hit each other in a playful kinda way. They had never had a problem with physical contact and now there were these six foot thick walls of solid lead keeping them apart.   
  
'Jess, I have to go. There's some stuff I need to do.'  
  
'No, Brennan don...'  
  
Silence filled the air as Brennan cut the link between the two of them and turned away from the amazing view.   
  
***  
  
'What?' Lexa asked as Jesse pushed open the door from the lab to the main room of Sanctuary a little too hard causing it to slam into the wall. She guessed that the conversation between him and Brennan hadn't gone well.   
  
'He cut me off.'  
  
'Ouch. I'm sure its nothing personal,' Lexa replied, trying to soothe Jesse.   
  
'I know that. Something's going on with them, Brennan and Shalimar and I just want to know what it is.'  
  
'Something to do with Lucy, or just something?'  
  
Jesse smirked. Brennan and Shalimar had been edging around that subject for a while. He would have gotten sick of it already if it hadn't been that it was somewhat amusing. But now it was threatening the teams dynamic and whether they chose to do it themselves or had someone else, say him do it for them it needed to be resolved before it got them all in trouble.   
  
***  
  
Shalimar kicked the door open and walked through into the cool hall of the house. She dumped the bags on the floor and pushed the door closed with her hip. She had been shopping all morning, walking around the area, checking everything and everyone out. She had followed Lucy for a while but she just went into a local bar and sat down watching the sun move through the sky. Lucy hadn't met up with anyone in a trenchcoat and a large pair of sunglasses; she hadn't gone anywhere near Brennan; and she hadn't used her powers on anyone unless she was working them over with her mind. And Shalimar hadn't noticed anyone killing themselves to help Lucy so she assumed that she hadn't.  
  
Her heels clicked against the floor as she made her way through to the kitchen with atleast half the bags clasped in her hands. The house contained next to nothing in the way of food so Shalimar had taken it upon herself to buy some. She could sense Brennan before she walked into the room. It was weird how she could always sense people she knew well. She had thought that it had only been Adam who she had shared that particular connection with, but when Jesse showed up and she got to know him better than she knew her own family she had discovered that it wasn't just Adam. It was the people she loved and it had been the same with Emma and as she gradually learnt to trust Lexa she was sure the same would apply.   
  
She kept her eyes locked on the tiled floor beneath her feet as she walked into the room. She could feel Brennan's gaze on her head as she placed the bags on one of the counters. She started unpacking things, hoping that he would want to avoid anything that could be called a confrontation.   
  
'Any particular reason why you're avoiding me as much as you are?'   
  
She should have known that his silence was too good to be true. She pushed her hair out of her face and looked him straight in the eyes, trying to conjure some confidence in the words which were about to come out of her mouth.   
  
'I'm not avoiding you.'  
  
The corners of Brennan's mouth lifted into a smirk but he wasn't happy about any of it. He couldn't try to resolve the problems between him and Shalimar if she wasn't prepared to admit that there was a problem.   
  
'Okay, so I'm avoiding you a little.'  
  
Brennan stared at her, eyes wide. He had expected the whole denial thing to be a lot harder to crack. Shalimar was stubborn at the best of times and Brennan usually found it difficult to change her mind about the smallest things let alone the big ones.   
  
'This is why I don't change my mind very often, because none of you take me seriously if I do,' she said, as she took in his look, exasperation beginning to show.   
  
'I'm taking you seriously, Shal. I just don't know quite where all this is coming from,' Brennan exclaimed. He walked around the counter and stood next to Shalimar. His hand reached out for her arm and he felt her warm smooth skin under his fingertips. He turned her so that they were standing directly in front of each other and looked at her downturned face.   
  
'Shal,' he whispered, not wanting to break the mood of the moment.   
  
She lifted her head so that her eyes met his and in that moment she realised that no matter what the mission, now that she had found him she couldn't just let him go. She had waited so long for him and she was not prepared to walk away from him no matter how good and rational the reasons were.   
  
She raised her hand to his cheeks and stroked her fingers across it. She could feel the faint roughness of dark stubble as it scratched gently at her skin. Tears threatened to spill over the edges of her eyelids but she was distracted by the feel of Brennan's hand running through her hair.   
  
Both of them visibly started as the phone rang in the hallway.  
  
'You should get it. It might be Lucy,' Shalimar said quietly. Brennan shuddered gently at the feel of her breath on his face.  
  
'How about we let the machine pick it up?' he said, lowering his head towards hers.   
  
They grew closer and closer till there were mere millimeters between the two of them. Just as their lips were about to meet Shalimar frowned and pulled back slightly.   
  
'What?' Brennan asked.   
  
Shalimar moved away from Brennan's grasp and walked out into the hallway. Her eyes were wide and she was finding it increasingly hard to breathe. She could hear Brennan's footsteps behind her but her mind didn't seem capable of processing the information and she jerked as he laid his hand on her shoulder.   
  
She walked forward to the phone and pushed the button on the answer machine. The device whirred for a few seconds before the sound of a crackly long distance call came floating out of the speaker.   
  
'This is a call for a Miss Shalimar Fox. This is the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. We're located on Madison and Fifth Avenue and we are currently looking after your father Nicholas Fox. You are listed as his only next of kin and we're sorry to tell you that he is in a coma at the moment...'  
  
The noises of the world faded out and Shalimar stumbled backwards before falling to the floor, her eyes closed, her body still. 


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks again for the reviews, I didn't get so many this time round so you all have to make sure you review this time round because otherwise I will not be a happy bunny (thanks to those who sent me the super long reviews...I loved those).   
  
Also I haven't seen the last episode of season two (don't ask) and I haven't seen any of season three (don't ask me...as Sky) so everything in this fanfiction is based on what I've managed to glean from the summaries on the official website and the wonderful summaries of LoveConquers (I'm still appreciating that so much). So don't have a go at me if there are certain things that are somewhat incorrect. And also, while I'm confessing everything else I've never been to America so have no idea what New York or Beverly Hills look like. Sorry if its all very inaccurate.   
  
***  
  
'Is Shalimar at the hospital?' Lexa asked quietly as Jesse walked into the room and sat down heavily on one of the couches.   
  
'I don't know. I dropped her off on the roof of the building next to her hotel and when I said 'do you want me to come with you' she said that she wanted to be alone,' he replied. The entire journey had been hard. Shalimar had been ashen faced and silent and Jesse hadn't had the heart to try and break the tension in the cockpit.   
  
'She'll be okay,' Lexa said unsure what else she could say to Jesse to try and alleviate some of the pain he was feeling. She knew he loved Shalimar like she was his own flesh and blood but her father had hurt a lot of people and it had to be tough seeing her run off to look after him.  
  
'He's hurt her so many times I guess I'm finding it a little hard to understand why she would care,' Jesse said. He felt awful for not being able to give a damn about the man who was such a huge part of Shalimar's life but he couldn't. It was because of Nicholas Fox that Adam and Emma were dead, something Jesse couldn't forgive.   
  
'You don't have to understand her reasons for going, Jess, you just have to be there for her. She doesn't expect more than that from you or Brennan,' Lexa said. She placed her hand on his shoulder and moved closer to him on the couch. It was clear for anyone to see that deaths of Emma and Adam had hurt the Mutant X team more than anyone of them would ever let on. Jesse, who was never very good at hiding his emotions was still hiding his thoughts on that particular subject.   
  
Jesse turned his head and looked at Lexa's face, her eyes blocked from his gaze by thick black lashes. His hand reached out and cupped her cheek. She looked up, suprise evident in her eyes. She knew that it had been coming but the idea of letting someone in still scared the crap out of her and she wasn't sure if she wanted to take that step. But a part of her was screaming out for Jesse to lean in and kiss her. She wanted him, but more than that she wanted that kind of closeness, the kind that she hadn't felt in a long time.   
  
'Maybe we shouldn't do this,' Lexa said quietly. 'I mean, you are vulnerable right now and we work together and you know what they say about keeping your work and your personal life separate,' she continued. She was babbling and she knew it but she didn't know what else to do. She was terrified at the possibility that Jesse might kiss her. 'And we should probably be helping Brennan out now that he has to do the mission all by hims...'  
  
Lexa's voice cut out as Jesse's lips met hers. For one fleeting moment she forgot all about Brennan and Shalimar and Mutant X and everything. She breathed out deeply as Jesse moved away. He looked down at her, almost as shocked as she was that they had kissed.   
  
'I'm sorry,' he said.   
  
'Really?' Lexa replied.  
  
'No,' Jesse said as they breathlessly lunged for each other. Their lips met once again and it was like suddenly they had been let out of the starting blocks. Lexa attempted to undo the buttons on Jesse's shirt but gave up and ripped it off him instead. Jesse shuddered as he felt Lexa's hands on his bare chest and they pulled apart while he pulled Lexa's t-shirt over her head. The top fell to the ground and Lexa moaned as Jesse's mouth moved from her lips along her neck to her chest and his hands moved from her hair down to her back.   
  
***  
  
She leant against the brick wall and wrapped her coat around her a little tighter, trying to shut out the bitter wind. She watched on as an ambulance drew up outside the building and unloaded its passengers, two paramedics and a woman on a stretcher. Shalimar could smell the blood from where she was standing and looked away, having seen enough sick people in the last hour to last her a lifetime.   
  
She had finally gotten the courage together to leave her room at the hotel and head to the hospital. When she had gotten there she had been shown upstairs to the intensive care department. She remembered standing outside a wooden door for ten whole minutes. She hadn't wanted to see him lying there, hooked up to a million and one different machines. Eventually though she had pushed the door open and had walked in. The one thing she remembered being shocked by was how he looked so much like he was just sleeping. It was the biggest cliché in the book but she had never actually believed it. She had always assumed it was just some way of making yourself feel better about someone who was ill, another way of reinforcing denial on yourself. But she had seen him like that hundreds of times when she was a kid. He always slept on his back, always breathed deeply and she remembered when she was having trouble dealing with her mutancy she would sneak into his room at night and watch him. His steady breathing calmed her more than any sedative could.   
  
She had sat in that room for hours, not moving from the seat she had occupied. People came in to check on his vitals and they went out again, people were brought into the hospital and people were taken out. She could hear the sounds of wheelchairs and beds being rolled along the floor outside the room, she could hear the noises of families visiting loved ones. She knew that no matter what kind of trouble her father was in she would never relish seeing him that much. He had done too much to her for it to just be made up simply because he was in a coma. She didn't care if that sounded heartless either. She knew Mutant X would understand which was all she needed.   
  
An ambulance roared past her, out onto the street. It turned and sped off to save someone else's life but she didn't blink an eyelid she was so lost in her own thoughts. She was wondering how Brennan, Jesse and Lexa were. The latter probably didn't care a whole lot. It wasn't that Shalimar thought Lexa had a heart of stone because she had recently downgraded her to ice queen, it was just that Lexa, although she might have done her research on the team before she joined had not experienced any of the family stuff they had done when Emma and Adam were alive. Jesse meeting up with his dad, Shalimar meeting up with hers. It was private to them but they had been forced into these situations where they had to tell the team, where they had to share what was going on, what had gone in their respective pasts. It was something you couldn't read from files and documents, you had to be there in order to understand. And Shalimar figured that even Jesse had had it easy compared to her. Yeah, his dad wasn't around a lot but he had still had his mother and there were a lot of new mutants who understood being abandoned. Shalimar, as far as she knew was the only one who had been placed in a mental institution because her father thought she was crazy and had then been stupid enough to agree to meet said father so he could well and truly screw her and all her friends over. She rolled her eyes at her own retardness.  
  
She pushed off the wall with her hands and walked out of the ambulance bay into the world beyond. Across the road was Central Park and Shalimar ran across the street, dodging cars to get to it. She needed to get back to nature. She was a country girl at heart, loving the open rolling landscapes where she could see as far as the edge of the world, and she loved being able to see the not so orange sky at night with all the stars glinting brighter than Las Vegas ever could. It always made her feel more alive when she was near nature and since she wasn't leaving New York till her father woke up Central Park was going to have to do.   
  
***  
  
'Hi,' Lucy said with a wide smile as Brennan opened the door. He looked tired and his thoughts were distant, not in the here and now. She maintained the smile but her mind was whirring. Something had to have happened in the mansion for him to look so exhausted. She wasn't getting hostile vibes though so she could only assume that he hadn't found out anything about her.   
  
'Hi, let me just get my jacket,' Brennan replied. He was so not in the mood for a date with Lucy, or Gwen, or whatever her name was. His body may have been in Beverly Hills but his mind was with Shalimar in New York, and it hadn't left a forwarding address. He knew he was going to screw it all up by saying something wrong but the return of Shalimar was the only thing that could rectify that. And it didn't appear that she was coming back anytime soon. He walked into the house, letting the front doors swing closed a little, giving him a chance to compose himself enough to atleast put on some kind of front. He grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair where it had been thrown and breathed deeply. He was worried about her, not just because this was increasing the link between her and Nicholas and Brennan still didn't trust him but because the connections Nicholas had with others. They had all figured out that it was the explosion at Naxcon that had caused him to enter into a coma but that didn't mean that the people at Genomex, or what was left of it were gonna stop looking for him. And, if Brennan knew Shalimar at all she wasn't going anywhere until Nicholas opened his eyes, so if the people from Genomex found him, they found her.   
  
He walked out onto the porch closing the door behind him and took Lucy's arm, trying to convince them both that everything was going to be okay.   
  
***  
  
  
  
The wind whistled through the bare branches of the trees and swept Shalimar's hair across her face. She shivered involuntarily at the sudden burst of cold but carried on walking further into the park. She didn't want to go back to the hospital but she couldn't face going to her empty hotel room where she had only two options: drink the entire contents of the mini bar, order some more alcohol from room service (charged, of course to the Dominion's bank account) and, when she had gotten really drunk order some kind of porn. Or she could go to sleep. She wasn't ready to do either. She would get drunk when the pressure got to be too much and she would sleep only when she had to.   
  
Her eyes scanned the area in front of her and she saw a couple of dogs running across the grass, chasing a bright neon yellow tennis ball, a middle aged man following in their wake. Through some trees she could see a young woman walking home with a pile of papers in her arms and a couple of pieces of dried macaroni stuck to the front of her skirt along with some blue glitter. Clearly the kids at the local school had been super busy.   
  
She frowned as she saw three men in plain black suits walking in her vague direction. She had learnt over the years to pinpoint agents from the GSA or one of their branches from a mile away and these were them. She had wondered when they were going to turn up, knowing that where her father went, they followed like a bad smell. Her eyes glowed as she tried to work out where the other agents were, because there had to be more of them. There was no way Shalimar was having a lucky day. She could sense another five behind her, three of them with their tasers already armed and dangerous.   
  
The corner of Shalimar's mouth lifted into a smirk. She had been eagerly awaiting a fight with the GSA for quite some time. What with there being no holograms in the mansion she had been bottling up all the aggression she had been feeling ever since Lucy and Brennan started flirting with each other. Finally, she was going to get the chance to have a little fun. 


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks for all the reviews. Don't underestimate the power of feedback to make me feeling all warm and fuzzy. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. If I'm gonna be following plan A there shouldn't be too many chapters left. However I have just come up with a plan B...don't ask why, it just came to me. Please review this update and enjoy.   
  
***  
  
Shalimar watched as the men grouped around her in a holding pattern. There were eight in total and Shalimar knew she could take them all out without putting any effort into it at all. It wasn't arrogance, she was simply a better fighter than any of them and her abilities made her faster and stronger. She had never truly hated the idea of having special gifts. Her life was a hard one where she had to fight to stay alive, and the evolution thing was a bunch of unfun, but she had always liked feeling special, different. And being a feral was such a huge part of her she couldn't think of any reason why she would ever give it up. She had been willing to change for Richard because she loved him but she knew she would have regretted it, choosing a normal life over the weird one she had now.   
  
She jammed her elbow into the gut of one of the men and heard the ensuing groan. She slammed the back of her hand straight into his nose and heard the crack of shattering bone, felt the vibrations against her skin. Her eyes flitted across to the man directly in front of her. He looked a little more anxious than he had before and took a few steps back as he saw her eyes change and heard the low rumbling growl emit from deep in her throat.   
  
The men looked at each other, now even more aware of what they were going up against. The looks of determination made Shalimar smile. They all looked like that before she kicked their asses. Afterwards they just looked really still.   
  
She pushed her foot into the ground and felt herself lift off the floor. Her hair whipped around her face and she saw the men pass underneath her as if the move was in slow motion. She landed outside of the circle, happy that she now got to choose where the fight would take place. Shalimar didn't mind being cornered, it just made her all the more viscous but, in her need to get away from the present, from all the crap that was happening in her real life she wanted the fight to last as long as possible and in order to do that she had to pick the most beneficial fighting ground for her.   
  
She looked at the blue flash of electricity, bright in its intensity that was produced from one of the long sleek black plastic sticks that one of the men was holding. Taking it as the challenge it was intended to be she stepped forward and kicked at his side, a move which was too fast for him to block. He staggered and Shalimar's fist sailed over the top of his head to catch the man behind him on the temple. It was a powerful blow and the man went sailing to the floor and landed with a quiet thump on the soft grass. Shalimar span around and her foot smashed into the first mans cheek. He fell on top of his teammate, both of them out for the count.   
  
'Three down, five to go,' Shalimar muttered under her breath. The remaining men looked pissed and terrified, an interesting combination, but Shalimar hadn't even broken a sweat. In fact, she wasn't even warmed up yet.   
  
But she had been too wrapped up in her own triumphant thoughts and she felt the sting of the electricity working its way through her veins. She gritted her teeth, determined not to scream despite the burst of sudden pain. She doubled over but knew she had to stay standing if she was to stand any chance of getting out of the fight intact. Her hand reached blindly for the taser and after a few seconds she found the source of the electricity. She wrapped her fingers around it and yanked it towards her. The man, shocked at her response released his hold on the stick and Shalimar staggered backwards, needing some space to regroup. She looked up just in time to see the man who had been shocking her start to make his way forward. Shalimar drew her arm back and then threw the taser. It hit the man straight between the eyes and he dropped, convulsing violently to the floor. The rest of the men watched on before all deciding that there really was no 'I' in 'team'. All four of them rushed towards Shalimar. She dodged the first one by turning out of his way. He fell to the floor behind her and rolled, clearly having had a little more formal training than any of the others. She ducked out of the way of a clumsy fist and shot her leg backwards, kicking the man in the chest, winding him. She swung her leg around and knocked him to the floor unconscious. She blocked a couple more punches before deciding that the game was no fun anymore. She was hurt and although she would never let any of them know that she needed to finish the fight quickly. She backhanded one of the men and elbowed the other in the head. She crouched to the floor and swept her leg along it, taking two pairs of legs out from beneath two men. She span round to face the last guy and saw him running towards her. She bent over so her back was 90 degrees to the floor and he flew straight over, landing on his spine. She walked across to him and knelt down, one of her knees digging into his chest, her hand wrapped around his throat pinning him to the grass below.   
  
'What do you want?' Shalimar said looking deep into the guys scared eyes. 'Apart from to beat the crap out of me,' she added as an after thought.   
  
'I'll never tell you,' the man managed to choke out before Shalimar tightened her hold around his neck. He tried to swallow but couldn't and he stared at her with desperation. Shalimar didn't loosen her hold at all though and with a roll of his eyes he realised he was going to have to tell her something.   
  
'I was...sent by the...GSA to take...you out,' he replied. Shalimar looked down at him, her eyebrows raised. That was something the GSA would do but she was sure that he wasn't telling her everything. Mutant X had known that Genomex would regroup in some shape or form but for them to suddenly reform and come after her didn't make any sense. They had to have some kind of ulterior motive.   
  
'What do you really want?' she yelled.   
  
The man looked distracted for a moment and Shalimar frowned before yanking his earpiece out of his ear. He smirked up at her and Shalimar leant down to place it into her own ear, intrigued by his expression.   
  
She heard a female voice saying that team b had reached their target and were waiting on orders as to whether or not they should extinguish the mark.   
  
'No,' she whispered, her eyes wide, her heart beating so fast she thought it would burst out of her chest.   
  
She stood up fast and started running as hard as she could back across the park towards Fifth Avenue.  
  
'You'll never make it in time,' called the man from behind her but she paid him no attention. She kept on running her heart and lungs working so hard it felt like they were almost at the point of combustion. The muscles in her legs burned and her arms pumped. Despite the pain she knew she couldn't stop. She couldn't afford to lose that time.   
  
***  
  
The second time round she didn't have any problem pushing the door open to her fathers room. She looked around her and saw three men standing around her fathers bed. They were wearing the same nondescript suits of the other agents and all looked up at Shalimar's flushed face.   
  
'Get away from him,' she said forcefully, her body resuming its less energetic state quicker than most peoples.   
  
They all smiled at each other which just led to infuriate Shalimar more. She stepped forward and swung her arm back into the first mans face. He yelled in anguish at the force of the blow but Shalimar immediately moved onto the next victim. She kicked him so hard he flew back into the wall behind him. He slumped to the floor, leaving the cracks in the plaster for all to see. Her eyes turned to the third man who had backed up against the window and who looked positively petrified.   
  
'I don't care who sent you, I don't want to know exactly what you were planning on doing. I do however want you to go back to your boss and give him or her a message from me. Tell them that they just pissed off one of the most powerful ferals in the world and that I am going to make them regret it.'  
  
He nodded rapidly and along with the other two men who had been struggling to get off the floor during Shalimar's speech ran out of the room, the door swinging closed behind them.   
  
She breathed out in gasps unable to control herself. She walked over to her fathers bed and pulling up a chair sat down, allowing herself for the first time in a long time to relax. She leant her head on the edge of the bed and felt her eyes slowly drift closed.   
  
***  
  
Brennan handed the waiter the menu and looked over at Lucy/Gwen. So far things had been going okay. He hadn't made any major slips with information, hadn't forgotten her name, hadn't mentioned Shalimar or Mutant X. But he was still uncomfortable and he was sure that message was being conveyed like it was on a 30ft billboard. He wanted to leave, wanted to call Shalimar and make sure that everything was going okay in New York. He couldn't stand being away from her when she needed someone. She was going through something which was incredibly tough on her. Brennan didn't want her to be alone, left to deal with it by herself.   
  
The conversation at their table had dried up ever since they had arrived at the restaurant, not that it could have been described as lively before that. Brennan was distracted and Lucy didn't have any idea how to break him out of his slump. She looked around her and noticed the other couples in the room. Some of them were laughing, sharing a joke that only they understood; some were holding each others hands across the table gazing into each others eyes; some were feeding each other which just made her wanna gag. She was so sick of people being in love, but she couldn't deny that that was precisely what she wanted. She wanted someone she could be close with, share things with, be intimate with. She wanted the Hollywood romance with candles and roses and fireworks. And she knew already that she wasn't going to find it with Brennan. She wasn't disappointed, she had never expected that kind of thing with him. He was a mark, someone she screwed over and used for her own personal gain. She didn't want Brennan, but she knew someone who did.   
  
'So, what's her real name?' Lucy asked.   
  
Brennan's head shot up and he frowned. Had he said something, thought something that had given the game away?  
  
  
  
'There's no need to look so shocked,' Lucy said. 'I know you're not who you say you are and I know that there's something going on between you and her so, for the sake of my own curiosity, will you tell me?'  
  
Brennan smirked. The game was most definitely up. There was very little point in pretending anymore. He had a feeling that Lucy wasn't quite what the Dominion had portrayed her to be. In the short time he had known her she had seemed like a perfectly reasonable person and she seemed more amused than pissed by the fact that he was screwing her over.   
  
'Her real name is Shalimar,' he replied.   
  
'Do you love her?'  
  
'Yes,' Brennan said without hesitation.   
  
'Figures.'  
  
'What does?'  
  
'Only people in love find it so hard to play at being someone else. I think its something to do with the fact that your life seems so perfect you don't want to leave it behind even for a second.'  
  
Brennan nodded. 'And your real name is Lucy,' he said quietly so as not to give her up to everyone in the restaurant.   
  
'Yes. Are you mad because I tried to screw you out of all your money?' she said with a coy smile.  
  
'Very,' Brennan answered mockingly.   
  
They both laughed, glad that they could finally reveal who they really were. Brennan leant back in his seat and relaxed a little. He was still anxious for news of Shalimar but the lack of game playing was distracting him.  
  
'So where did Shalimar go?' Lucy asked. She hadn't sense her back at the mansion and had assumed that she was just out doing some shopping or looking around town. But now everything was starting to make more sense. The guy sitting in front of her had been miserable ever since she had picked him up. That kind of thing only happened when loved ones went far away.   
  
'She went to New York. Family issues.'  
  
'And when is she coming back?'  
  
'I don't know. Whenever she sorts them out I guess. Though chances are she won't be coming back here. I was sent with her to trick you into attempting to screw me out of a ton of cash, but now that the plan has gone a little awry I guess I'll be going home.'  
  
Lucy looked at him with a reassuring smile. He wasn't just worried about Shalimar's family issues. He was worried about what would happen when Shalimar got back from dealing with them. It was typical relationship anxiety and Lucy had seen it a million times before in a million different people. She had inside information though on what Shalimar was feeling for Thomas and she knew that they would probably, if there weren't too many obstacles placed in their path, end up doing the happily ever after thing.   
  
'So are you allowed to just abandon missions like that?' she asked, wondering about her own future.   
  
'I'll probably get a slapped wrist but what other option do I have? I can't just shop you in now that you've been so nice to me and all.'  
  
'Thank you,' Lucy replied, knowing that he was going to get a little bit more than a slapped wrist for letting her go.   
  
'But on one condition.'  
  
Lucy's eyebrows raised.   
  
'I want you to take this card, and if you ever need any help call me because trust me, the people who wanted me to get you are not gonna give up just because I did. They're gonna carry on chasing you and although I can't just turn around and give them the finger I can help you out without them needing to know anything,' Brennan said. He didn't like the Dominion and didn't trust them or their motives. He was not going to aid them in anyway if he could help it. And he was certainly not going to hand over Lucy so they could do whatever they wanted to her.  
  
'Okay, I promise. But I have a condition as well.'  
  
'What?'  
  
'What's your real name?' 


	9. Chapter 9

I'm sorry its been so long since the last chapter. Its been a busy school week and I haven't had the time to draw breath, let alone write.   
  
I received only two reviews for the last chapter which was a little off putting so I hope people will take the time to review this one.   
  
***  
  
She twisted the faucet and watched for a second as the cool clear water rushed out and filled the tall glass. She turned the tap once more and stopped the flow before placing two white tablets onto the back of her tongue. She took a gulp of the water and felt all of it slide smoothly down her throat. She leant her hip against the counter and stared out of the window in front of her at the world beyond. Jesse had brought her home in the Helix, and had then gone to pick Brennan up from the mansion. She had been made aware of the situation regarding Lucy by Lexa and had then been left alone to try and acclimatise herself to Sanctuary once more. She had been moving around a lot recently and it was good to be home.   
  
'Hey,' came the voice of Brennan from behind her. She had heard his footsteps from all the way down the hall and had been waiting, hoping that he didn't want to have a really long conversation. She had been attempting to subdue the headache that had been raging ever since the fight and talking was not something that she could see as helpful.   
  
'Hi,' she replied as she turned around to face the tall man. He looked tanned and rested, but his shoulders held tension that she could tell came from the fear he was feeling at seeing her, more than from the mission he had just undertaken.   
  
They both stared at each other, Brennan wanting so much to talk about what was going on between them but unsure of how to broach the subject; Shalimar wanting to avoid talking about anything.   
  
'So, I...' Brennan started but he was quickly cut off by Shalimar.  
  
'I really have to go unpack and I'm tired and I have to shower,' she said, knowing that her excuses sucked but unwilling to give the real reasons behind her antisocial behaviour.  
  
'Oh,' Brennan said. He looked down at the floor. He had wanted to be near to Shalimar ever since she went to the other side of the country but now that he was in the same room as her not only was he a bumbling idiot but she seemed completely repulsed by the idea of them being close.   
  
Shalimar smiled halfheartedly as she walked past Brennan and out into the corridor. She made her way to her room, her feral senses on overdrive as she tried to avoid Jesse or Lexa knowing that they would want to hear about her father as much as Brennan. She finally made her way to her own private sanctuary and slid the door closed behind her, feeling the wood on the back of her arms. She turned and leant her forehead against it, feeling it cool her hot skin down.   
  
Eventually she moved away and pulled her bag off of her bed. She couldn't be bothered to unpack. She couldn't really be bothered to do anything. She was feeling lethargic and restless. She wanted to do something to stop her from dwelling on subjects a little too close to home but she didn't have the energy to do anything.   
  
She looked around at the door as she heard it slide open.   
  
'I'm sorry if you're tired and I understand that you at some point need to unpack but we have to talk and we have to talk soon,' said Brennan, quickly and in a rush as he slid the door closed behind Shalimar and blocked her only escape.   
  
'Look, Brennan, I'm not deliberately putting off talking to you but I really don't wanna do this now. Its too much, too soon and...' Shalimar's voice trailed off as she looked into his eyes, pleading silently with him to understand why she couldn't talk to him at that particular moment.   
  
Brennan breathed deeply. He had jogged all the way from the kitchen to Shalimar's room because he had realised just how much they needed to talk and he had been determined to not take no for an answer but seeing her looking so weak and vulnerable he couldn't do it. He couldn't force her to have a conversation she didn't want to have. He turned and tried to slide the door open.   
  
'What the hell?' he said as he found that it was stuck.   
  
'Brennan?' Shalimar asked from behind him. She frowned. She knew she hadn't locked the door and she hadn't seen Brennan lock it either. Her mouth opened as the pieces all fit together.   
  
'Jesse,' she said into her comlink, her anger evident by her voice.   
  
'Hey Shal,' Jesse replied. She could tell he had a smile on his face.  
  
'Jess, open the friggin door, now,' she said forcefully.  
  
  
  
'Nope,' came the reply.   
  
Brennan and Shalimar looked at each other.   
  
'What?' Shalimar said. She was not in the mood to play any games even with Jesse.   
  
'Myself and Lexa have come to the decision that you and Brennan are going to talk about what is going on between you two. You are not gonna avoid the situation like you normally do with crap excuses, and if locking you both in a room for a couple of hours is what it takes then so be it. I am now going to turn off your comlinks so there will be absolutely no distractions. If you want to get out to eat or drink or do anything you should probably start talking sooner rather than later.'   
  
And with that silence pervaded through the room.   
  
***  
  
'I take it you told them the plan,' Lexa said as she walked into the room. She hadn't seen Brennan or Shalimar for some time and there had been some suspicious banging coming from Shalimar's bedroom.   
  
'Yeah. I think she might actually kill me when she gets out,' replied Jesse, with a broad smile. He was fed up of the tension between the two of them and, being happy himself felt he could afford to help them sort out their problems.   
  
Lexa walked up behind him, wrapped her slender arms around his waist and rested her chin lightly on his shoulder. She relished the closeness and increased her hold on him, not wanting to loosen her arms long enough to let him get away.   
  
Jesse turned his head and their lips met as Lexa moved around his body. His arms moved around her and pulled her closer. After the other night they had both decided that they would much rather get together than do a Shalimar and Brennan. They were both tired of people screwing around, knowing what they wanted and not having the guts to admit to it.   
  
'Well, if you think she's going to kill you,' Lexa said as they pulled apart, 'can you imagine what she is going to do to me?'  
  
Jesse laughed. 'You are a dead woman walking,' he replied before pulling her in for another kiss.   
  
***  
  
'Well, it looks like we have no other option but to talk this out,' Brennan said as he turned away from the door and his fruitless attempts at opening it.   
  
'You're loving this aren't you?' Shalimar replied. 'You have been wanting to talk to me since forever and now you've got your chance.' She dropped onto the bed and sat with her head in her hands.   
  
'You know what? You're right. I have been dying to talk to talk to you ever since you went to New York. In fact I've wanted to talk to you ever since I met you about what I feel for you. I love you. But you avoid everything because no matter what kind of tough exterior you put on you're still the scared little girl whose father put her in a mental institution...'  
  
He frowned as his voice cut out. Shalimar's shoulders were shaking violently and the sounds of racking sobs were coming from the figure on the bed. Brennan couldn't see her downturned face which was blocked from his view by her thick mass of hair.   
  
'Shalimar?' he said quietly as he walked over to her and knelt down in front of her quivering body. 'Shal?'  
  
She said nothing, she couldn't speak let alone about her feelings. The tears streamed down her face thick and fast and sobs constricted her throat. Eventually she managed to draw breath, breathing in the air around her, gulping it down like it was the last she was going to get. Her shaky hand reached up to brush her hair away from her face and she looked up at Brennan. The look of concern that she saw was enough to almost make her start crying again.   
  
'Are you okay?' he asked, resting his hand on her shoulder.   
  
'He's dead,' she replied after a lengthy pause.   
  
'Your father?'  
  
'Yeah. When he went into the hospital it looked like he might make it out of the coma. I guess I allowed myself to hope that maybe, just this once something would go right in my life, that maybe I wouldn't be the one left alone.'  
  
'What happened?' Brennan asked, as Shalimar's voice began to falter.  
  
'Genomex is up and running,' she replied. She couldn't quite believe it herself. When Brennan had killed Eckhart it had seemed like a whole new beginning, especially with the arrival of Lexa. It had been like they were starting a new chapter in Mutant X and that maybe they could finally leave everything else behind. But clearly they were not that lucky.   
  
'They killed him?' Brennan said with a frown. He would never have guessed that the GSA was back. He knew there would have been people searching for Nicholas Fox but he could never have imagined that the GSA, in just a few months would have been able to regroup enough to find information on him and then hunt him down.   
  
'They distracted me and by the time I worked it out it was too late. They did something to him, I'm not sure what but afterwards the doctors said there was no hope. They said he could survive for a long time but he would have been a vegetable and I didn't know what to do.' Her voice rose in volume and tone as she told Brennan what had happened. 'And I knew that if he was kept alive with machines he wouldn't really be living. He would just be there. So I asked them to disconnect the machines and they did and then he stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating and he died.' The tears had returned and they fell as Brennan pulled her into his tight embrace. He rocked her back and forth, slowly swaying until Shalimar's audible sobs had stopped. He could feel the salty water seeping through his top to the skin below, he could feel her shaking sporadically as she tried to control herself.   
  
'It wasn't your fault. You could not have done anything more than you did,' he whispered.  
  
She pulled away from him and looked straight into his dark brown eyes. 'I know,' she replied. She knew she had done everything for him. She had fought and she had ran and she had tried to save him. She didn't feel guilty, she just felt sad and empty. She had never been close with her father but it still hurt to know that they would never have the opportunity to make it up to each other.   
  
'You should sleep,' Brennan said. He wanted to help her and he knew that he probably already had but he was now at a loss as to what to do. He wanted to be there for her but had a feeling she should probably be alone.   
  
'No kidding, Sherlocke,' she replied, attempting to lighten the situation.   
  
'Shalimar, Brennan.' The voice made them jump and they both looked at each other, wondering why Jesse sounded so anxious and urgent.   
  
'Yeah?' Brennan replied, knowing that for that moment in time it was probably best to leave the subject of Jesse and Lexa locking him and Shalimar in a room.   
  
'We just got a call from Lucy. It didn't sound good.' 


	10. Chapter 10

It came sooner than I expected but here's the last chapter. I'm sorry I haven't updated in ages, I couldn't get this one to work but I finally sorted it all out and hopefully you will all enjoy and review. Thank you to all the reviewers who have given me feedback for the whole thing. I am eternally grateful. I am planning on writing a sequel but you all have to let me know if you'll read it if I do.   
  
***  
  
The sun beat down onto Shalimar's bare shoulders but inside her there was a chill. The team had left Sanctuary immediately after receiving the call and they had reached Beverly Hills ten minutes after that. But Shalimar was scared that even that short amount of time had been too much. Lucy had the ability to protect herself, all new mutants did, but she had not been trained like the members of Mutant X had, she didn't have the kind of stamina they had gained over the years. She wouldn't be able to protect herself for long, if at all.   
  
Brennan had filled Shalimar in on what she had missed while in New York during the flight. Him leaving Lucy, abandoning the mission had had more consequences than any of them could have known about. Lucy was wanted by the Dominion and they weren't going to let a repentant Mutant X member stop that. Shalimar had already put two and two together and although she knew she may have ended up with fifteen she was pretty sure that she was right. The Dominion had sent their own people to finish the job. They had wanted Mutant X to deal with it but when that plan had failed they had moved onto plan B. And unlike Mutant X they weren't gonna let a conscience get in their way; they were gonna take Lucy out no matter what it took.   
  
When they had landed they had each taken a different route, each trying to get to Lucy first. Brennan and Jesse had, like Shalimar already figured out the truth, they had already worked out what the Dominion was going to do with Lucy but Lexa still seemed to want to believe that they wouldn't do anything to harm a new mutant. Shalimar couldn't work out whether Lexa was stupid, naïve or optimistic but which ever it turned out to be she was going to get hurt.   
  
She sniffed the air again and the metallic smell of blood hit her nostrils.   
  
'Hey guys, I think I've found her,' she said into her comlink.   
  
'Where are you?' came the voice of Brennan, clearly anxious for any news.   
  
Shalimar looked up and down the road to find a sign. 'Bradbury Road, but I think she's in an alley off of it.'  
  
'We'll be there soon,' Brennan replied before Shalimar cut the link. She walked forward faster than before and eventually reached a doorway. The wooden door was swinging lightly on its hinges and the smell became almost unbearably strong for Shalimar. She pushed it open with one hand and stepped into the darkness of the room. Her eyes glowed like beacons and she looked around her.   
  
A gasp slipped from her throat and her eyes widened as she saw Lucy in all the glorious technicolour that her feral abilities afforded her. Shalimar felt the bile well up in her throat and everything seemed to overwhelm her. She turned and ran from the room, straight past Brennan who had, moments before appeared in the doorway. He heard the sound of Shalimar choking in the alley as he walked forward into a room he really didn't want to go in to. The smell was overpowering and he had to turn away as he saw Lucy's brutalised body in front of him, faintly through the shadow of the gloom. He couldn't even imagine the things the Dominion had done to make her look like that and he didn't want to. He had seen a lot of pain in his life, a lot of it caused by him but he had never done something so completely heartless. And the thing that really made him sick was that the Dominion had enjoyed taking her out of the bigger picture, the one only they could see. They hid behind this facade of doing the right thing for the good of many but what they neglected to notice was how much pain they caused in the process. Lucy hadn't been part of their plan so they had gotten rid of her and they weren't going to think about her ever again unless one of them happened to come across a file with her name on it. Even if that happened they wouldn't remember her face. He turned and walked out of the building to comfort Shalimar and to warn Jesse and Lexa that going into the room could seriously damage their view of the world.   
  
***  
  
Everything looked different. The world had suddenly come into focus with sharper, bolder colours. The Mutant X team had had their rose tinted glasses forcibly removed by the people who had placed them there in the first place.   
  
Shalimar's eyes were red in deep contrast with her face which was the palest it had ever been and she walked as though she were in a daze with Brennan's arm around her waist so she wouldn't collapse. She had been through a lot in the past few days and seeing Lucy had been the final straw. She was ready to have a full on mental breakdown.  
  
Brennan led her towards a chair. The ride home had been conducted in complete silence except for the sound of Lexa calling the Beverly Hills police station and telling them about Lucy. He had thought back to his last conversation with Lucy. She had seemed so relieved to finally be able to tell the truth and he had been happy to let her. She had been given a chance by him and it had actually made her glad to be alive. She must have been so scared before they had killed her. It made him furious and he could feel the electricity buzzing inside of him, dying to be let out so he could avenge her and all the others the Dominion had taken care of.   
  
Lexa didn't know what to think. Brennan had stopped both her and Jesse from going into the building and she didn't regret his decision. She knew from Shalimar's and Brennan's reactions that it must have been horrifying. Shalimar hadn't said a single word since the event. And Lexa felt completely lost at sea, unable to find her own way to shore, unable to ask the others for help. She had spent so long obeying the Dominion's every wish and yet she had been helping the very people she pledged to protect the world from. They had pulled the wool over her eyes for so long and she had been stupid enough to let them. She hadn't asked any questions of them and now Lucy had paid the price. She blinked back the tears which threatened to spill over the edge of her eyelids as she looked across at Jesse. He looked like he was dealing the best out of any of them. Jesse who always seemed so dependent on others was the one everyone eventually turned to for comfort.   
  
Jesse looked at Shalimar's weak figure. He had never seen her so shell shocked, except of course when Emma and Adam had died. It didn't seem right that she should be so vulnerable. She always worked so hard to cover up her inner emotions, the ones she didn't want anyone else to see, just like they all did. And now none of them could hide anything from each other, it was almost like they didn't want to. In order to get through the ordeal they had just been through they needed to be able to reach out to each other, no walls in the way.   
  
'So what do we do now?' said Lexa, the first one to break the silence, her voice wavering she was so unsure of what it sounded like.   
  
'I don't know,' Jesse said.   
  
'I do.' Her voice sounded clear and strong, something unexpected from her feeble body. She looked up, her eyes containing a look of determination so strong it shocked the other members of the team.   
  
'And what's that?' Lexa asked after a long pause.   
  
'We start doing what we do best,' Shalimar replied. Brennan's eyebrows rose. She made it all sound so simple but at that moment he didn't even know what it was that Mutant X did anymore.   
  
'We start protecting the people we pledged to protect.' Even Shalimar was suprised at the strength held in her voice. She hadn't realised that she had it in her.  
  
  
  
'Unless you hadn't noticed we have been doing just that for the past few months, with the Dominion's help,' Lexa said, frustration and disbelief evident.   
  
'You're right, we have been helping people,' Shalimar replied. 'But we have only been helping those individuals who matter to the Dominion. When was the last time any of us went to one of the safehouses to check on the new mutants staying there?' She looked around her at the ashamed faces. 'We used to do that kind of thing without even thinking about it, we used to make sure that not only were they safe but that they felt safe. Ever since the Dominion showed up in our lives we've neglected the ordinary new mutants, the ones who aren't out to save or destroy the world.'  
  
'You cannot tell me that Adam never asked you to do things which didn't help the 'ordinary new mutants'?' Lexa bit back. She knew they blamed her for everything that had happened. When Shalimar talked about the Dominion she was placing them in the same box as Lexa. She didn't even know why she was standing up for them anymore. They hadn't helped her over the years. If she looked back and truly thought about it they had always made their big, lavish promises but they always failed to follow through. But she was so desperate to hold onto something, anything that was normal to her. The Dominion had always been a part of her life and she felt that if that was taken away she would fall with it.   
  
'No, I can't,' Shalimar replied, her voice sounding stronger by the second. 'But I trusted that Adam was doing the right thing no matter what the mission was. Maybe I shouldn't have, maybe I should have asked more questions but I didn't and now its too late. I'll probably never know what Adam's real reasons were for setting up Mutant X,' her voice lost some of its force as her thoughts were lost in thinking about Adam. Everything had been so simple when he was there. She could rely on him to make her feel secure. But since he had gone she had been left with no one to guide her. She had been lost without a compass. She snapped herself out of the flunk she had gotten into and continued. 'But that's not what bothers me right now. What bothers me is that I don't know anything about the Dominion.'  
  
'I have told you everything I know,' Lexa said, pleading with Shalimar to believe her. Lexa had, without realising it come to rely on the opinions of Mutant X and she wanted Shalimar to think well of her, to believe that she was trustworthy.   
  
'I'm sorry if it seems like I am being harsh on you Lexa. I don't mean to be. It is not your fault that the Dominion have been given so many opportunities to screw us over. You came along at a difficult time for all of us and we needed someone to guide us, to lead us and I am grateful that you took the job on so readily. But after seeing what I saw back there I have no doubts about the reality of the Dominion. I don't trust that they're doing the right thing and I know that's hard for you to accept and I'm not gonna try and force that view on any of you, I don't have that right.'  
  
Shalimar looked at the three people in front of her. Everything she had said was true. The team had been desperate for leadership, it was how the Dominion had been given the opportunity to ingratiate themselves. She was embarrassed that she had been so gullible as to believe that the Dominion wanted to do the right thing and she, not for the first time wished that Adam and Emma had never died, that nothing had ever changed.   
  
'The Dominion's going to have to do without me,' she concluded, smiling at the idea that she was going to be free once more. She knew it wouldn't be that easy to get away from the Dominion, she wasn't that naïve but it felt like a massive burden had been lifted from her shoulders.   
  
'I second that motion,' Brennan said. He walked over to where Shalimar was and put his arm around her shoulders, squeezing lightly. She leaned into him, relishing the feeling of warmth.   
  
'Me too,' Jesse said. Shalimar smiled at him, knowing he would never have disagreed with his older sister but loving that he was prepared to follow her anyway.   
  
Her eye flitted across to where Lexa stood. She could tell the brunette was caught between a rock and a hard place. She didn't abandon the Dominion and she was going to have failed her mission of becoming involved with Mutant X but she left the Dominion without an agent and they were definitely not going to be happy.   
  
Their eyes met, both knowing and understanding what was at stake.   
  
'Motion passed,' Lexa said. Her heart immediately felt lighter and it was like she could breathe properly for once. 'So where do we start?'  
  
Everyone turned to Shalimar.   
  
'I gave the rousing pep talk. I'm leaving the rest of the work up to you guys,' she protested.   
  
Brennan smiled as he stood up. 'Shalimar and I will start checking the safehouses. We'll stock them up, see who's in there, see who needs some help.'  
  
'And you,' Jesse said, turning to Lexa, 'can tell me absolutely everything about the Dominion. We'll document all of it, including all the missions we've been on since they took over and put it all in a file.'  
  
Lexa nodded as they both walked off in the direction of the lab.   
  
Brennan took Shalimar's hand and helped her up from where she was sitting.   
  
'I love when you get all enthusiastic and righteous,' he said as he pulled her closer, his hands moving across her back.   
  
'And I love when you take charge,' she replied, a smirk on her lips. They may not have talked about their relationship but they were both prepared to leave that conversation till later. Right at that moment, none of that seemed to matter.   
  
It was the end of yet another era. Without Adam they had been lost completely, the Dominion had helped them out, but now they were all that little bit more grown up. They would fight for the people who couldn't fight for themselves and if that meant kicking some Dominion ass they would do that too. They were Mutant X and nothing could stop them. 


End file.
